GS: (currently in a comatose state on the keyboard)

Midori: (standing next to her head) Er…Sorry this chapter is so late, folks, but almost right after she posted the last one, Author-Lady here went on quite an…interesting… ten-day mission trip to Pennsylvania…

GS: (mumbling) Gary-san, what state 'er we in? …Ohio? NOOOOOO! WE'RE STILL IN OHIO! …I want my Kurama-san… (cuddles newly-bought plushie of Kurama from Yu Yu Hakusho)

Midori: Uh…Yeah. Please excuse the crazy author-lady and enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: The day author-lady owns Digimon, Harry Potter or anything else in this fic will also be the day she announces her marriage to Bigfoot, with the Monster from the Blue Lagoon as the flower girl.

Chapter 35: Explanations, Transformations and Transportation

Ron's words summed up the situation very nicely.

"Aw, crud."

The transfers stared down at the crouched trio of Gryffindors with mingling expressions, ranging from surprise to amusement to annoyance to serious anger, the later being that worn by one Kouji Minamoto, who still gripped the Invisibility Cloak dangerously in one hand.

The black-haired transfer blew an annoyed breath between his teeth. "What…do you think…you're doing here?"

Hermione bristled with her deeply-routed prefect pride. "We could ask you the same thing." She snapped, rising to her feet with the boys barely seconds behind.

Harry's stand was a tad bit more restrained, turning his head to look at Takuya instead of Kouji. "You're going after him, aren't you?"

"We don't have a choice." Takuya shrugged.

"But…But wait a second!" Ron gasped, pale in the face. "You were talkin' about some pretty weird stuff…"

Junpei laughed awkwardly. "Oh…you heard that…did you?"

"Every word." Hermione whispered coolly, taking a step into the clearing and facing the group of transfers with a serious glare in her eyes. "And we'd like a little explanation."

The transfers, except for a very annoyed Kouji, refused to meet her eye. Tomoki shifted anxiously, shuffling his feet, and Izumi started muttering nervously in what sounded like Italian.

Hermione was getting annoyed. "We're not going away, so stop stalling." She snapped, almost vicious. "What exactly is this 'Digital World' place? What are Digimon, and why are you hiding it from everyone?"

"It's none of your business." Kouji hissed, just as viciously.

"It is when they're invading our school!" Hermione exclaimed. "Those were Digimon out there, weren't they? At the game, and in Hogsmeade, those were Digimon! They're not in any of the records of magical creatures and there's never even been a sighting of anything like them, so why do you seam to know what they are?"

Kouji growled low under his breath. "We don't have time for this."

"Yeah, right." Takuya sighed, stretching out his shoulders restlessly. "Why don't we just take them with us and explain on the way?"

Kouji glared at him. The goggle-wearing teen shrugged and mouthed, "Well, they're not leaving…"

Harry frowned slightly. "On the way…where?"

Kouji waved the folded sheet of parchment, the directions to the Malfoy manner. Hermione, only slightly mollified, sighed, putting her hands on her hips. "And how exactly are you planning to get there?"

A mischievous grin quirked over Takuya and Junpei's mouths, a highly entertained one mirrored on Izumi's and Tomoki's, and in Kouji's eyes. "Do you really think we came all the way out here…" Takuya grinned, flipping his D-Tector into his hand. "And didn't think of that?"

Kouji's blue and white D-Tector soon appeared out of his pocket, followed by Izumi's own purple one. Tomoki and Junpei took several steps back, pulling the others away with them.

"Hey…wha…?"

"We don't know if this is gonna work yet." Junpei shrugged, and before anyone could ask what 'this' was there was a huge beam of light, accompanied by three different voices:

"EXECUTE…BEAST SPIRIT EVOLUTION!"

The resulting flash of light was blinding, to say the least, and accompanied with by a chorus of strange beeping and whistling noises that echoed metallically through the dark woods. Ron, Harry and Hermione quickly ducked back, covering their eyes against the harsh light, and when they looked again, they were…surprised, to say the least.

Standing exactly where Takuya had been, there was an absolutely huge creature that instantly reminded Harry of a very over-grown phoenix, somehow bred with a dragon. It was huge, the top of its head barely brushing the very top of the trees. It shrugged its huge shoulders and stretched them out as though just trying them on.

When Kouji had been was now a large white wolf covered with gleaming, pure white armor so that it seamed to be completely made of metal. It, too, was gargantuan, roughly the size of Buckbeak the Hippogriff and with the same amount of hidden danger. There appeared to be wheels on his large, clawed feet, and he shook his huge head restlessly.

The third figure was hovering several feet above where Izumi had previously been. For a split second, Harry was reminded of the Tengu, but quickly changed his mind as the creature's fantastical beauty registered. About a head taller than the normal full-grown woman with all the curves of a supermodel, the purple-clad creature looked almost harmless until you noticed the large claws adorning each hand.

After all this information managed to plant itself in their minds, Ron promptly fell over backwards. "What...the bloody…hell?"

Junpei was tense all over, taking a hesitant step forward. "Guys? Everybody okay in there?"

"Yeah." the dragon-phoenix growled in a low version of Takuya's voice. He nodded his huge head, pulling several tree branches free in his wake. "Feels fine."

"Under control." The bird-thing said in Izumi's voice, flexing her claws thoughtfully. "But Takuya, why did you Digivolve?"

The huge dragon-thing shrugged its shoulders. "With three more people, somebody's gotta carry them."

Harry blinked, then did it again, rubbed his eyes and straightened, blinking up at the fire-creature in blank astonishment. "Ta…Takuya?"

The creature turned its head and…grinned at him. "What? You were expecting someone else?"

"B-But how did you…" Hermione was white as a sheet. "This is…impossible! You can't be Animagi, and that transformation…"

"Bloody hell." Ron said again.

The bird-thing…Izumi…smiled down at them. "It's called 'Spirit Evolution'." she told them brightly. "Long story short, the spirits let us become Digimon."

"But what are…?"

"On the way." The Kouji-wolf-thing cut Hermione off with a growl, tossing his head restlessly. He moved to the group…somehow, Harry couldn't tell if he walked or wheeled himself over…and tossed his head in the other direction. "Get on."

The English wizards blinked at him. "…Eh?"

"You heard me." The deep growl rumbled out again, accompanied by an annoyed glare. "I can carry two."

Ron, Harry, and Hermione all looked roughly like the proverbial rug had just been pulled out from under them. They glanced at each other, then Harry finally shrugged and went to grip the back of the wolf's breastplate, pulling himself on the way he had with Buckbeak and the Thestrals. After a hesitant moment, Ron joined him.

Izumi-bird-creature smiled, landing next to Hermione. "Allie oop." She said brightly, which was the only warning before she scooped the girl up into her arms, making her shriek slightly and wrap arms around her neck.

Takuya-dragon laughed at their reactions, scooping the remaining two so that one rested on each arm. "Everybody set?"

"They better be." The Kouji-wolf growled, lowering the wheels on his paws. "'Cause I'm not waiting."

"All right then." Izumi-bird flared her wings and lifted up above the trees. "Let's get going!"

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

"So…Digimon are…Computer programs?" Hermione asked, frowning a bit as she tried to comprehend all the information she'd been given in this three-hour flight. "Enforced by magic?"

"Something like that." Izumi…Zyphermon…smiled behind her mask, ignoring Ron's repeated question about what a computer was. "Kouichi-kun understands it better than the rest of us. He got it first-hand."

"How?" Harry asked, still gripping the breastplate for his life as they raced through woods that got darker and darker. "And why him?"

"We don't really know." Izumi called as Kouji…KendoGururumon…growled. "But Kouichi's been tied in with the Digital World ever since we came back. I think why he's so sensitive to magic and stuff."

"…I guess that makes sense." Hermione had a very thoughtful look on her face. "And that's the reason Voldemort took him, isn't it? The real reason?"

The Digimon-Transfers exchanged solemn glances. "Yeah…we think so."

"Something like that."

… … …

"Hey Takuya?" Tomoki asked softly, looking up into the giant Digimon's face. "Why did you bring those guys along anyway?"

"Who? Potter and the others?" BurningGreymon tossed his head slightly, clearing away the last of the stuck branches that hadn't come loose in the torrent winds circling them. "Come on, guys, you've heard the rumors, too…"

"Rumors?" Junpei whispered, just as softly.

"About those three." Takuya grinned softly with a melancholy air. "The stuff they've been through, especially Potter? They probably know more about Voldemort and his Kegareru than we could even guess at."

"So you really think they're going to help?" Tomoki looked over at the rest of the group, the three English wizards still getting the run-down from Zyphermon.

"Kouji would think so…If he was thinking properly."

"What does that mean?"

Takuya shook his head, this time with mild worry. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed." He sighed. "Ever since Kouichi disappeared, Kouji's been going nuts…He won't show it, of course, 'cause it's Kouji, but he's really not thinking straight."

"So you're trying to do it for him?" Junpei raised and eyebrow.

Takuya grinned again. "Hey, somebody has to."

A low growl suddenly echoed up from the path below them. "That's it." KendoGururumon's voice floated up with it, as the large wolf motioned his head forward.

The rest of the group looked up, finding themselves faced by a large castle mounted in the midst of the dark forest, almost completely dark. The only thing that made you even think that the castle was there was that the moon, shining behind it, made a very thin silvery outline against sky where there were no stars.

The grin quickly vanished from Takuya's face, returning to one of serious impassiveness. "Well, gang." he sighed, bristling all over and preparing to de-Digivolve. "Here goes nothing."

TBC…

Heh heh…sorry to leave off there, folks. But I really just need some more time to think about what happens next, and I figure you'd rather have a quick update now instead of waiting an extra three weeks for me to finish. (Even if this chapter was majorly lame…I'm really sorry about that…) So, don't kill me, I swear the action really starts up in the next chapter…Fight scene, fight scene…(passes out again)

Midori: Oh boy…